A New Mexico judge has ruled that medical cannabis patients in the state can’t purchase as much cannabis as social use cannabis customers. The state’s new legalization law allows social use cannabis customers to purchase up to two ounces of cannabis every time they go to a dispensary, and they can shop at a dispensary as often as they want. The medical cannabis program limits patients to purchase 230 gram per every 90 days.

Jax James, state policy manager at NORML, told Cannabis News Box that he thinks this was the wrong ruling. James said these kinds of decisions should be made by patients and their doctors.

“This micromanagement of a medicinal plant is not a reasonable tactic. It is important to allow doctors to practice medicine while not limiting patients’ rights,” James said.

Reenal Doshi, director of outreach and communications at Americans for Safe Access, told Cannabis News Box that he also thinks this should be a decision that’s left to patients and their doctors.

“It is unconscionable that someone who would use cannabis for recreational purposes, which they should be allowed to do, is free to purchase more product than someone who relies on it for their very health and well-being,” Doshi said. “While adult medical cannabis patients may be able to rely on a visit to an adult-use dispensary should they run out of product and meet their purchase limit, this leaves minors who rely on medical cannabis without any recourse.”

Doshi said the state’s legislature needs to fix this problem as soon as possible. He said multiple  states that have had medical cannabis programs for some time may need to consider updating their laws.

“As more and more states are looking to pass adult-use legalization, they need to prioritize ensuring that medical cannabis patients are not left behind. Many medical cannabis laws have been in effect for a number of years, and were passed by legislatures that may have been a little more apprehensive about the policies that passed,” Doshi said. “However, we often see that when legislatures consider adult-use bills they, by and large, are more willing to pass broader and more inclusive policies than they previously passed in medical cannabis.”

It’s not yet clear if the legislature will change the state’s medical cannabis program to fix this problem or how soon they’ll do so if they decide to fix it.